Post by Diarist on Jul 24, 2016 11:52:46 GMT 1
I was the first of the 'front' commanders to arrive at the HQ so I got a bit of a hero's welcome. Churchill's greeting was, "You cost me two cases of Champagne, Carter." I looked a bit confused then General Gort told me about the 'before breakfast' wager.
"General Wavell conceded defeat at ca. 04:15 but the formal surrender was an hour later when LTC Patton's column arrived in Maiden Bradley."
"Before 07:30?" Churchill asked.
"Easily. More like 05:30."
General Gort asked me if there had been any hitches.
"The airborne operation went smoothly. We achieved complete surprise and captured their HQ before they realized what was going on. Our radio team quickly took over and after we had captured the nearby Signals unit the 2nd Infantry Division was completely under our control. It was also the right decision to capture the railhead at Gillingham and offload Patton's armour there."
"What about Irvine's force?"
"I don't know, Sir. I haven't seen him this morning. When the commander of 6th Brigade refused my orders Irvine had a clear road ahead of him so he could advance unopposed and at 05:00 there is little traffic on the roads." He then told me about the Monday meeting at the MoD. "It looks like a working weekend."
I managed to excuse myself then go to the restaurant for a steak and a glass of beer. Before I'd finished GEN Malin Craig joined me at the table.
"I was very impressed," he opened. "I suspect that you are an advocate of independent armoured formations."
"Not at all, General." I gathered my thoughts. "I believe in tailor-made formations which can operate independently. For this FTX Blue forces had 4th Infantry Division at its disposal. We created three brigade-sized BG's then selected the units required for each BG to accomplish its mission. The Heavy Bde was armour-heavy designed to punch a whole in the defences. The Light Bde's mission was to cover the right flank of the Heavy Bde and the Block force, well that's obvious."
"In other words there is the administrative structure of the division in the barracks during peacetime but at war the manoeuvre battalions are building blocks for the larger formations."
"Yes. The brigade HQ's become BG HQ's. Each brigade BG HQ has battalion-sized BG's attached to it and one could even have company-sized BG's attached to them. This is true for both the defence and offence."
"A very flexible organization. What kind of training do you recommend?"
"That's still work in progress, Sir. I would suggest company commanders in the combat branches at a minimum."
"When do expect LTC Patton to arrive?"
"I'm not sure, Sir. The armour has to be brought to the nearest railhead. That'll be Warminster and knowing him he'll be supervising the loading himself."
"How far is that from here?"
"It's about 45 minutes if the roads are clear."
"Then let's go, Major."
I've just been assigned extra duties.
"General Wavell conceded defeat at ca. 04:15 but the formal surrender was an hour later when LTC Patton's column arrived in Maiden Bradley."
"Before 07:30?" Churchill asked.
"Easily. More like 05:30."
General Gort asked me if there had been any hitches.
"The airborne operation went smoothly. We achieved complete surprise and captured their HQ before they realized what was going on. Our radio team quickly took over and after we had captured the nearby Signals unit the 2nd Infantry Division was completely under our control. It was also the right decision to capture the railhead at Gillingham and offload Patton's armour there."
"What about Irvine's force?"
"I don't know, Sir. I haven't seen him this morning. When the commander of 6th Brigade refused my orders Irvine had a clear road ahead of him so he could advance unopposed and at 05:00 there is little traffic on the roads." He then told me about the Monday meeting at the MoD. "It looks like a working weekend."
I managed to excuse myself then go to the restaurant for a steak and a glass of beer. Before I'd finished GEN Malin Craig joined me at the table.
"I was very impressed," he opened. "I suspect that you are an advocate of independent armoured formations."
"Not at all, General." I gathered my thoughts. "I believe in tailor-made formations which can operate independently. For this FTX Blue forces had 4th Infantry Division at its disposal. We created three brigade-sized BG's then selected the units required for each BG to accomplish its mission. The Heavy Bde was armour-heavy designed to punch a whole in the defences. The Light Bde's mission was to cover the right flank of the Heavy Bde and the Block force, well that's obvious."
"In other words there is the administrative structure of the division in the barracks during peacetime but at war the manoeuvre battalions are building blocks for the larger formations."
"Yes. The brigade HQ's become BG HQ's. Each brigade BG HQ has battalion-sized BG's attached to it and one could even have company-sized BG's attached to them. This is true for both the defence and offence."
"A very flexible organization. What kind of training do you recommend?"
"That's still work in progress, Sir. I would suggest company commanders in the combat branches at a minimum."
"When do expect LTC Patton to arrive?"
"I'm not sure, Sir. The armour has to be brought to the nearest railhead. That'll be Warminster and knowing him he'll be supervising the loading himself."
"How far is that from here?"
"It's about 45 minutes if the roads are clear."
"Then let's go, Major."
I've just been assigned extra duties.